At the same time as many people depend on personal assistance to manage everyday life, it has become increasingly clear that criminals have established themselves within the personal assistance industry. And they are exploiting a system that lacks sufficient oversight. A new government agency report has established that all 62 of the largest personal assistance companies in Sweden have employees with links to organized crime. The situation is very serious – and raises questions about how long the problems have been allowed to grow.

“Personal assistance is no longer safe. It has been hijacked and exploited by organized crime.” – Minister for Social Services Camilla Waltersson Grönvall.

Among 1,211 active limited companies:

Örebro stands out: Örebro is the region with the second-highest number of registered personal assistance companies in the country – more than Malmö and Gothenburg.

• Örebro stands out: Örebro is the region with the second-highest number of registered personal assistance companies in the country – more than Malmö and Gothenburg.
• 416 active limited companies in the industry have zero (0) employees. Despite this, 34 had a turnover of over SEK 1 million in their most recent annual accounts.
• 245 of the active limited companies reported zero (0) turnover in their latest accounts. 88 companies have not reported any turnover at all.
• At least one of the companies is included on a warning list by Svensk Handel.

Among the total number of examined personal assistance companies, regardless of type, 2,439 in total:

• For every new company that is started, almost twice as many are closed down: Despite new establishments averaging 63 companies per year, an average of 110 companies per year are closed down.
• A total of 248 companies, both active and inactive, have owners who also stand behind at least one other personal assistance company.
• 649 of the total 2,439 are inactive:
  - 7% of these inactive companies (44 of the 649 active) were active for less than 1 year.
  - 13% of these inactive companies (82 of the 649 active) were active for less than 2 years.

With proper controls in place, unserious actors can be stopped in time – and the public sector can avoid doing business with them from the outset. It is partly the lack of supervision that enables both fraud and criminality – and that ultimately costs both taxpayer money and people’s sense of security.

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For more information, please contact:
Sandra Siljestedt
sandra@roaring.io
+46 707-424298

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